Identification
A small body forms at the lower end of the trading range. The upper shadow is usually long while the lower shadow is small or almost nonexistent.

The Psychology
In an uptrend or within a bounce of a downtrend, the stock gaps up. A valid attempt is made to rally the stock, but the strength subsides and the stock falls to close near the day's low and near its opening price. Failure to follow through with strength suggests the bulls may be losing strength. Although this is not necessarily extremely bearish, it is less bullish, so stops should be moved up or profits taken on longs. For a reversal to occur a weak day is needed to confirm the pattern.

Here is an example of how a bearish Shooting Star can be used to pick the top of a range. BMY was trading aimlessly without much conviction in either direction, so a buying the bottom and selling and selling short the top would provide profits for the patient trade. After the stock bounced from 25 to over 27, it was a Shooting Star candle that signaled the top.

Shorting a Shooting Star pattern at the end of a high volume rally is very risky, but if the candle forms at resistance (notice 17 was the previous high) like it did here with NEOF, the reliability of a successful reversal significantly increases.

Here's a risky play. DCLK was in a good uptrend when it formed a bearish Shooting Star candle. It's a sign that longs should look to take some money off the table, but only aggressive traders should look to short such a strong stock.